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Mork's First Christmas
Mork's First Christmas was the 13th episode of Season 1 of Mork and Mindy, and also the 13th in the series. Co-written by Dale McRaven and Bruce Johnson, the episode, which was directed by Howard Storm, first aired on ABC-TV on December 14, 1978. Synopsis Mork can't afford to buy Christmas presents, so he makes strange, unique gifts for each of his closest friends. Plot summary Mork doesn't have money to buy Christmas presents, so he makes thoughtful but impractical gifts for each of his friends. As he learns about the true meaning of Christmas, he helps remind everyone else about it, when he invites the obnoxious Susan Taylor (Morgan Fairchild) to spend Christmas with the McConnell's because she's got no one to celebrate with. "'Note:"' No report to Orson is made this episode; different end sequence is played. Trivia *This marks the second appearance of Patrick Cranshaw, the old man fighting for merchandise in the store, who returned to portray crotchety TV cameraman Jake Loomis in season 3. *Mork hurls Susan's Gucci angel and cries, "Fly! Be free!," just as he did with an egg in The Mork & Mindy Special. In one of his final interviews, Robin Williams remarked that fans frequently spit the line back at him. "People remember the silliest stuff," he said.Pioneers of Television: Robin Williams Remembered *There is no report to Orson in this episode. *The end credits are unusual in that they play over original footage, rather than still-photographs. Mork sneaks down from the attic in the dark and sits under the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. Quotes *'Mork': There's a plague! It's an epidemic, it's called Christmas! *'Mindy:' Ohhhh, the Christmas plague. *''Mork:' Ah, you know about it? It affects the brain! The mindless hoards are all out in the street milling around. Last night, while you were at school, there was a roving gang terrorizing the neighborhood, they were just singing for trouble! *'Mindy:' Singing for trouble? *'Mork:' Yes! They wanted to beat up Monty Hall and his family! They were going from house to house singing, "''Deck the Halls! Deck the Halls!" ---- *'Mork:' Quick, we've gotta get you out of here! The whole town's under Marshall law! There's a little fat dude in a red suit on every corner! And he's called Santa CLAWS! And he's stopping everybody! And people are really sick cuz they're putting plastic babies on everybody's lawn covered in straw! I don't know, but we've gotta get out of here before we're all infected! *'Mindy:' Mork, relax. Now, this might be hard for you to understand, but it's all a part of our Christmas holiday. *'Mork:' Oh, that explains it. ---- *'Mork:' Mindy, you don't have to worry about it snowing tonight because here's your fair-weather friend, Susan. ---- *'Mindy:' Well, Susan Taylor! Whatever brings you into this neighborhood? After all, there's no valet parking. *'Susan:' Mindy! Nonsense! I'd go to a tacky area to see a friend. ---- *'Susan:' Ciao! Mork: Grub! *brings in a bundled Christmas tree *'Mork:' A tree in bondage? Eugene, you're weird. Why are you dragging this dead thing around? *'Eugene': Haven't you seen a Christmas tree before? *'Mork:' Ohhh, a Christmas tree. No. *'Eugene:' Man, sometimes you act like you're from another world! ---- *beckons from outside the door, sing-song *'Susan': Knock-knooock! Mork:Who's there? *'Susan': Susannnn. *'Mork': Susan, who? *'Susan': Susan Taylorrrr! *'Mork': What a terrible knock-knock joke. ---- *'Susan:' I am so thrilled that you and Mindy have invited me to spend this special time of the year with you that well, I've decided to share with you one of my most cherished possessions, a heavenly top-piece for our tree: my Gucci Angel. pulls a ceramic angel from a box *'Mork:' Well, any friend of yours is a friend of ours, and your winged guest is welcome here. Fly, little friend, be free! *tosses the angel in the air, it hits the floor and shatters Mork: Oooh, heavy remorse! I've killed your flighty friend! I'm sorry, it was your most prized possession! *'Susan:' That's alright, I have six more at home. ---- *'Susan:' Ciao! Mork:'Pekingese! ---- *'Mork: At home, we used to make presents for people. *'Eugene:' Sure, you can do that! *'Mork:' I thought that's against the law! You know, because on TV they say you've gotta buy everything, it's part of the commercialization of Christmas, you know! *'Eugene:' The stores would rather you buy them, there's no reason you can't make 'em. *'Mork:' Oh. Oh yay, excitement, tingle! I gotta get the material then. See what do we need? We need lots of gum, a ball of string, some dustballs and a little tiny whip! ---- *beckons from outside the door, sing-song Susan: Knock-knooock! Mindy *'Mork': Don't say, "who's there," it's a setup for a terrible joke. ---- *'Mindy:' Oh, Susan, forget about Patrick. We're gonna see that you have a really nice Christmas this year. *'Mork:' Yes, we have presents, even for you. ---- *'Susan': Mork certainly seems to be excited about Christmas. Mindy: Oh, he is. It's like it's his first one. You see, his parents never celebrated Christmas. Susan: Oh, that's sad. Mindy: Yeah, it is. exits Susan: Mork and I have a lot in common. ---- *unwraps her gift Cora: Um, a painting? *'Mork:' Yeah, you said you like music and antiques, so I combined the two and I made a portrait of Liberace, made out of old bubblegum. I painted each wad myself! ---- *unwraps her gift Susan: Gee, I can't wait to see what I got. *'Mork:' Yours is the only one I bought, cuz you said you wanted something returnable. *'Susan:' A saucer? Mork: Surprised? *'Susan:' Oh, yes! Why a saucer? *'Mork:' Well, Mindy said you'd only appreciate something shallow. ---- *unwraps her gift Mindy: It's a bracelet! *'Mork:' No, it's a lawnmower! Of course it's a bracelet! It's hand-made by Mork. *'Mindy:' Well, it's really interesting. What kind of beads are these?*'Mork:' Oh, they're not beads. I know you'll love it cuz there's a whole collection of 'em up in the attic. They're flies! *drops the bracelet in the box Mork: They can't fly now, silly, they're dead! And look, I hand-painted each and every one of their eyes. Which was really a drag, took a long time. And I made little clothing for 'em right there, little pants. Oh, look! Look! His human's open! And if you look real close and you hold 'em up to the light, you can see I put sequins on the wings so they could look like Liza Minelli in Cabaret! ---- *'Mindy:' Poor Mork, I'm so embarassed for him. He worked so hard on all this stuff! Cora: I know. A rug, gum, dead flies... It's tough to warm up to! ---- *'Fred:' Okay, so your presents weren't very practical, but it doesn't matter. *'Mindy:' Oh Mork, dad's right. It's not the gift, it's the thought that counts. *'Cora:' That's true, Mork, it is the thought. *'Mork:' Thoughts are important? *'Fred:' Well, of course! *'Mork:' I should've given you one of those for Christmas! *'Cora:' You can give a thought? *'Mork:' No, but you can give it to yourselves, I can make it happen! Let me show you. ---- *'Mork:' What was your thought? *'Mindy:' Well, when I was a little girl, I used to have this dog named Peppy, and I let him loose one afternoon at a picnic and he ran away. A week went by and I thought he'd gotten run over by a car. And I just remember the way I felt the day that Peppy ran up the driveway. Thanks, Mork. ---- *'Cora:' I was just remembering my husband, and our first Christmas together. We couldn't afford furniture or gifts for each other, but we bought a tree. And it was the best Christmas, ever! ---- *'Mork:' What's wrong, Pops?* Fred: Nothing, nothing at all. You just made me remember the first time I held my newborn daughter. My hands were so large and clumsy. I just couldn't believe anything so tiny could make me so happy. Thank you, Mork. ---- Cast & Crew Written by Dale McRaven & Bruce Johnson Directed by Howard Storm *Robin Williams as Mork *Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell *Elizabeth Kerr as Cora Hudson *Conrad Janis as Fred McConnell *Jeffrey Jacquet as Eugene *Morgan Fairchild as Susan Taylor *David Ketchum as The Salesman *Ysabel MacCloskey as The Woman *Patrick Cranshaw as The Old Man References External Links *Hulu Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 episodes